Surgical aspirator



INVENTOR JOHA/H. 156A/7 A 7'7'0E/V6V5 llllllllllllllL United StatesPatent C 3,499,393 SURGICAL ASPIRATOR John H. Bent, Hacienda Heights,Califi, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Air Instruments, Inc., SantaBarbara, Calif., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 5, 1968, Ser.No. 734,621 Int. Cl. F04f /24 US. Cl. 103--263 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A disposable surgical aspirator has a suction tube projectinginto one end of a tubular passage to define a ring orifice therebetween,and a manually operable valve is positioned adjacent a port in thetubular passage upstream from the ring orifice, to control flow of gasunder pressure through the port and the orifice, and a disposable bag isconnected to the other end of the tubular passage.

This invention relates to aspirator devices which are particularlyadapted to remove unwanted fluids during a surgical operation. At thepresent time, most surgical aspiration is accomplished with a motordriven vacuum pump unit mounted on a cart. There are severaldisadvantages. Clogging is a constant problem, since the lower pressureavailable does not clear clots, etc., through small bore vacuum hoses.Also, there is no way of determining, Without prolonged tests, whetherthe metal suction tips and opaque vacuum hose are sterile, so that crosscontamination cannot occur. Furthermore, there is the constant danger ofthe possibility of failure of the vacuum pump or the electric motorwhich drives it. The danger of explosion in the operating roomoccasioned by sparks from an electric motor is a real hazard. Finally,the pump and motor assembly and attendant paraphernalia occupy valuablespace near the operating table.

The objects of this invention are to provide an aspirator which isextremely reliable and clog-proof, and which is constructed of simplemoldable plastic parts, so that the cost is low enough to allow it to beused once and then disposed of, and not re-used, thereby eliminating thecost of sterilization, including high labor costs. The device is simple,with no moving parts except a valve which has very little failurepotential. Little or no floor space is required.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional elevation showing a preferred embodiment of thisinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the lines22 as shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation partly broken away showing the disposablebag connected to the aspirator unit.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan view taken substantially on the lines 44 asshown in FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawings, the aspirator device generally designatedincludes a housing 11 having walls 12 forming a tubular passage 13, andhaving walls 14 forming a chamber 15 at one side of the passage 13. Aport 16 connects the chamber 15 to the tubular passage 13. A suctiontube 18 having an entrance end 19 and a discharge end 20 projects intoone end of the tubular passage 13 and is secured with respect to thehousing 11. The discharge end 20 is flared or enlarged to define a ringorifice 21 within the tubular passage 13. The discharge end 20 of thesuction tube 18 is positioned downstream from the location of the port16. A groove 22 in the outer wall of the suction tube 18 receives acircular lip 23 on the wall 12 to anchor the tube 18 with respect to thebody 11.

A valve assembly generally designated 25 includes 3,499,393 PatentedMar. 10, 1970 a valve body 26 mounted within the chamber 15 and having aportion 27 projecting from one end of the chamber. The groove 28 in theouter wall of the valve body 26 receives a circular lip 29 on thehousing 11 to anchor the valve body 26 in place. The body 26 containslateral ports 30. A ball 31 is adapted to close against a seat 32 underpressure supplied through a pressure tube 33 leading from a source ofgas under pressure, not shown, for example a cylinder of compressed gas.A push rod 34 is slidably mounted within the portion 27 of the valve bdy 26, and a manually operable lever 35 acts on this push rod 34 todisplace the valve 31 from the seat 32. The lever is pivotally mountedon the housing as shown at 36. When the lever 35 is moved in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIGURE 1, the push rod 34 moves the ball 31 offof the seat 32 to permit gas under pressure to flow through the port 30into the chamber 15 and through the ports 16 through the ring orifice 21and into the tubular passage 13. This action creates suction pressurewithin the interior of the suction tube 18.

It will be observed that there are no restrictions in the flow paththrough the suction tube 18 and through the tubular passageway 13.Clogging is thus eliminated because anything which can pass into thesuction tube 18 passes completley through the device.

In order to center the discharge end 20 of the suction tube 18 Withinthe tubular passage 13, there are provided a series of smallprotuberances 37 (see FIGURE 2) around the outer periphery of theenlarged or flared portion of the suction tube 18 at the discharge end20.

A disposable bag generally designated 40 is connected to the tubularpassage 13 by means of a flexible hose 41 of larger diameter than thetubular passage 13. Openings 42 in the upper plate 43 at the top of thebag 40 permit escape of gas from the interior of the bag.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I amnot to be limited to the details herein set forth but that my inventionis of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an aspirator device, the combination of: a housing having wallsforming a tubular passage and a port in a wall of the passage, a valveassembly mounted on the housing and having means for connection to asource of gas under pressure, a suction tube extending into one end ofsaid tubular passage and projecting downstream from said port and havingan enlarged discharge end cooperating with the interior of the tubularpassage to form a ring orifice, a series of protuberances on saidenlarged discharge end of the suction tube to center it within saidtubular passage, and manually operable means for opening the valve topermit flow of gas through the port and ring orifice.

2. In an aspirator device, the combination of: a housing having wallsforming a tubular passage and a chamber at one side of the passage,means forming a port connecting the chamber to the passage, a valveassembly including a ported valve body mounted in the chamber, means onthe valve body for connection to a source of gas under pressure, asuction tube extending into one end of said tubular passage andprojecting downstream from said port and having an enlarged dischargeend cooperating with the interior of the tubular passage to form a ringorifice, and movable means on the housing for opening the valve topermit flow of gas through the ported body into the chamber and throughthe port and ring orifice.

3. In an aspirator device, the combination of: a housing having wallsforming a tubular passage and a chamher at one side of the passage,means forming a port connecting the chamber to the passage, a valveassembly including a ported valve body mounted in the chamber,

means on the valve body for connection to a source of gas underpressure, a suction tube extending into one end of said tubular passageand projecting downstream from said port and having an enlargeddischarge end cooperating with the interior of the tubular passage toform a ring orifice, and means including a manual lever pivoted on thehousing for opening the valve to permit flow of gas through the portedbody into the chamber and through the port and ring orifice.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein the valve assemblyincludes a ball element moved into closed position against a seat by gaspressure from said source.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein a disposable bag isconnected to the other end of said tubular passage.

4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 3/1924 GreatBritain. 2/1952 France.

HENRY F. RADUAZO, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

